Cello Sonatas by FRANCK, DEBUSSY & POULENC

“highly articulate, sensitively shaped and technically mellifluous performances from two outstanding musicians, which on this occasion only catch fire intermittently.” --Classic FM Magazine, March 2012 ***

“[Gastinel] and Claire Desert have a wonderfully intuitive partnership and both draw on subtle, inimitable soundworlds....Gastinel brings the right note of nonchalant simplicity to Debussy's Sonata...Where Rostropovich and Britten's landmark recording of this work has panache and bite, this duo, with cat-like tread, bring out an utterly different quality - equally stylish, and quietly impressive.” --BBC Music Magazine, March 2012 *****

“Gastinel and Desert make a very good job of [the Franck] - the playing is natural and unforced. The Debussy Cello Sonata is excellent here, an account that captures the fleeting moods of the work extremely well. This is quite an individual performance, working convincingly towards climaxes...The Poulenc Sonata here is a winner but the whole disc is very impressive.” --International Record Review, January 2012

“one of the notable aspects of the playing is its singing quality, the expressiveness that Gastinel draws from fine nuances of sound all seamlessly knit together in mellifluous lines...In her interpretative stance and application of colour Gastinel is ideally matched by Desert; the recorded balance is judicious and there is a real sense of a performance being created in complete accord.” --Gramophone Magazine, April 2012